15th annual Taste of Vail hosts opening night extravaganza

VAIL – The 15th annual Taste of Vail, a spring wine and food festival, will host its opening night extravaganza, the Vail Valley Chefs Showcase Dinner, April 6, located 10,000 feet above sea level at Vail’s Game Creek Restaurant on Vail Mountain.The Vail Valley Chef’s Showcase Dinner will get under way at 5 p.m. with guests riding to the top of the mountain on Vail’s Eagle Bahn Gondola, before being shuttled to the restaurant on a luxury-heated snowcat for the opening night extravaganza.

The Vail Valley Chefs Showcase will feature a five-course gourmet meal prepared by some of the Vail Valley’s most renowned chefs, including: Nelson of Terra Bistro, Kelly Liken of Restaurant Kelly Liken, Thomas Newsted of Game Creek Restaurant, Jean Luc Voegele of Ludwig’s and Darrell Jensen of Falling Creek at Arrowhead.Each course will also be paired with a special wine from the Taste of Vail’s participating wineries.

“The Vail Valley Chefs Showcase Dinner was created to highlight the great chefs that live and work in our own backyard,” explained Paul Ferzacca, Taste of Vail board member and Executive Chef/Owner of La Tour Restaurant and Bar. “Food and wine are key elements of the Taste of Vail. This is one of our most popular events and with limited seating, it sells out quickly.”He noted that 22 Vail Valley restaurants are Wine Spectator award winners, more per capita than any other city in Colorado.

The Vail Valley Chefs Showcase Dinner is priced at $125 per person, which includes tax and gratuity. It is not included in the full event package. Tickets for the Vail Valley Chef’s Showcase may be purchased securely online at http://www.tasteofvail.com or by calling 1-888-311-5665.During the annual four-day event upwards of 4,000 people are able to “taste the Vail Valley lifestyle,” which showcases Vail’s resort village set against mountain vistas. Participants at the Taste of Vail experience the valley’s world-class restaurants, fine wine poured by winemakers and winery owners from top wineries around the globe, along with interactive seminars, an auction and dance, apres ski tasting, the Vail Valley Chefs Colorado Lamb Cook-Off Competition and the popular mountaintop picnic sensory extravaganza at the top of Vail Mountain. Proceeds from the Taste of Vail benefit Vail Valley charities. For more information, go to http://www.tasteofvail.com.